ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2891
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2891
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28 Jun 2004
From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael
Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!
You wanted to know how your current arms, "Argent, a strawberry
proper and a chief gules", could be modified so that they were
authentic for an Italian woman living in Bologna or Genoa in
the 16th century. Here is the information we have found.
While we did not find any examples of strawberries in Italian
arms, we found examples of many other plants. In one study of
arms of Italian nobles (most of which date from before 1600)
we found examples of roses, trefoils, ranunculas, flowering hemp,
heads of garlic, trees, oak trees, palm trees, thistles, house
plants, grassy knolls, olive branches, pear branches, grapes,
and cherry trees. [1] Examples of specific types of fruits and
vegetables are also fairly common. The following list shows some
of the examples that we found; we have given the English name of
the charge, the Italian name of the charge in parentheses, and the
name of the family that bore the arms: [3]
a turnip (rapa), de Arsago, de Filago, de Ravizis
an artichoke (carciofo), di agosti.
pinecones (pigne), di Arecalchi
balsam vine (vite balsamina), de Balzamo
heather (brugh), di Burgaci
quince (mela cotogna), de Codogniola
green grapevines with red fruit, di Cadamosti
green grapevines with blue fruit, de Dairago, di Gallarte
green grapevines with purple fruit, di Vidi
green grapevines with purplish-black fruit, da Vigo
a bean plant (fagioli), di Fasoli, de Reginafasolis
squash (zucca), de Lomeno
blackberry bush (rovo), de Mornata, da Trecha
branch of chestnuts, de Merato
leeks (pori), de Poris
pears, di Parabove
bunches of white and blue grapes, de Rozis
braid of garlic, de Restis
unidentified root vegetable (raperonzolo), de Ranmporzoris
an apple (mela), da Spalis
zucchini?, da Zuconi, Zucca da pesca
There are two things we can note about this list. One is that
virtually all of these plants were depicted in their proper
(natural) coloring, so a strawberry proper is a fine extrapolation.
The second is that many of the charges appear to have been chosing
for canting (punning on the surname) purposes. The Italian word
for 'strawberry' is . We have not found any Italian
surnames based on this word, but if one existed, then we would be
unsurprised to see a person with this surname bearing strawberries
on their arms.
A single-tinctured chief is fine for Italian heraldry; we found many
examples. [2]
We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't
hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have
further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was
provided by Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Adelaide de Beaumont,
Juliana de Luna, and Maridonna Benvenuti.
For the Academy,
-Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 28Jun2004
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References:
[1] Blasonario piemontese (WWW: CGGP, 1994-2004), A page, C page
http://www.bellinzona.org/araldica/Blasonario-piemontese-a.htm
[2] Borgia, L., et. al., eds., _Le Biccherne : tavole dipinte delle
magistrature senesi (secoli XIII-XVIII)_ (Roma : Ministero per i beni
culturali e ambientali, 1984).
[3] Stemmario Trivulziano, a cura di Carlo Maspoli, Casa Editrice
Niccol Orsini De Marzo, Milano, 2000, pp. 564, rilegato in tela, ISBN
88-900452-0-5.